Late Afternoon In The Garden Of Good And Evil

Yesterday afternoon there was what was billed as “Press Conference to expose candidate’s ties to hate groups and affirm Lake Worth as a City of racial diversity and tolerance” held at the Cultural Plaza downtown. It really was more of a rally than a press conference. While the organizers went out of their way to repeatedly proclaim it was not political, the meeting had strong political messages from both sides of the controversy surrounding candidate for district 1 commissioner Scot Maxwell.

The press was there and sheriffs deputies made their presence known in increasing numbers as the afternoon wore on. A bullhorn wielding Mary Lindsey repeatedly interrupted speakers and was confronted several times by people trying to stop her. Several small confrontations as well as many animated discussions took place all through the event.

2 Comments on “Late Afternoon In The Garden Of Good And Evil”

The talented Mr. McGow rightly characterized the outcome of the protest and counter protest on Thursday evening at the Lake Worth Cultural Plaza. It is indeed impossible to divine who was good and who was evil.

As long as Lake Worth allows itself to be divided in camps labeled Pavers and Cavers or Racists and Liberals or Progressives and Good Ole Boys or Activists and Apathetics, we do indeed live in a wasteland of good and evil absolutes. Thankfully, nothing could be further from reality.

It’s easy to find refuge in labels. It’s easy to hurl anonymous accusations back and forth in cyberspace. It’s easy for a lovely small town to simply decay when all the attention is diverted to who is right, rather than what is best for all. It’s decidedly more difficult to act in the best interest, or even to determine what is in the best interest of all when the dividing lines are cut so deeply.

People smarter and far less frustrated than I will have to figure out how to achieve the common ground we know is fertile and which holds the greatest promise for our survival as a thriving, diverse and peaceful community. For the moment, the best I can do is stand up with like-minded people against the vicious name-calling, the ad hominum attacks, the unsubstantiated rumor and all that sadly passes for political debate in our fair city.

Everyone deserves a seat at the table, not just the friends and supporters of whichever camp is ahead in the latest challenge of Lake Worth Survival. The rules of television’s Survival are outwit, outplay and outlast and the outcome is one winner takes all. We are not a city of good and evil, weak and powerful, right and wrong, We can do better. We can be better.